You wouldn’t leave your purse on a bus bench, even if you’re just stepping away for a minute to make a phone call.

Nor would you leave home with the front door wide open, or recite your computer password out loud as you enter it, or write your secret PIN number on the back of your ATM card.

So why do so many drivers leave their keys in their cars?

Your car is, in most cases, the most expensive single item of property — and the most easily transportable — that you own. Having your watch or your lawnmower stolen isn’t as devastating as losing your car, along with everything you left in it.

Gosh, if only cars came with some mechanism that would allow only their proper owners to operate them. Maybe a lock and key system, a security device like your front door or computer has.

Sure, some thieves can pop the lock and jump the ignition in less time than it takes to read this sentence. But city and parish police say that in far too many vehicle thefts, the owners make it too easy.

In the wee hours of the morning, there are even some prospectors out there, going from driveway to driveway and tugging handles. Even if they don’t take the car, there might be something in there worth stealing.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau in its 2016 Hot Wheels Report listed these as the most-stolen cars in Louisiana:

Chevrolet pickup (full size)

Ford pickup (full size)

Honda Accord

Toyota Camry

Nissan Altima

GMC pickup (full size)

Chevrolet Impala

Dodge pickup (full size)

Toyota Corolla

Chevrolet Tahoe

If you’re in so much of a hurry every morning that you try to save a few minutes by leaving your keys in an unlocked car overnight, you might want to head out a couple minutes earlier. That’s a lot easier than phoning the office to say you’ll be a little late because your car isn’t where you left it last night.